Crossed Paths
by Tjfanfics99
Summary: The stories have been told before. "Momento mori", "Be true to yourself." However, this time, the rules have changed. Find out more tonight at 12, on the Tartarus channel. (P3 x P4 storyshift in Inaba AU. OCs included)
1. Chapter 1

"Welcome, to the velvet room."

"What the hell...?" A young man blinked his blue eyes rapidly, looking all around the unfamiliar area. "Where am I?" he wondered. He looked around and found himself in a room that was blue from top to bottom. The walls, ceiling, floor, and even the chair he was sitting in were of the same color. In front of him was an older man with an unsettling grin and extremely long nose that was sitting behind a table. He ran his hand through his spiky, black hair, trying to calm himself.

"My name is Igor. The realm that you are in now is one that exists between dream and reality, a realm that only those who have or soon will enter a contract can access." He chuckled, creeping out the teen even more. "Now then, what is your name?" The man folded his hands underneath his chin, his eyes fixed the young man with an intent gaze.

Still confused, and somewhat nervous, the youth answered. "T-Tatsujo. Tatsujo Urutora..."

"I see." A deck of cards appeared in the elderly man hand. He shuffled them carefully, as if they would be easily damaged, then placed seven of them on the table. "Let's see what your future holds...please, pick a card."

Tatsujo was hesitant at first, but he flipped a random card.

"Ah." Igor held the card. "The moon, in the upright position. This card represents hesitation, and mystery. Now then, please pick another card. I'm sure you have many questions, but I assure you, this is very important."

Tatsujo turned over another card.

"Hm. The temperance arcana, in the upright position. This card symbolizes synthesis, harmony, and the merging of opposites. It seems you will be involved in a mystery in your future. And along the way, you will bring fourth a unification of sorts." He chuckled again. "It seems our time is up for now, the next time we meet, you will have learned about your contract." With that, Tatsujo's vision began to darken.

"Hey! Wai...

* * *

"...ey...ujo...Tatsujo!"

"Huh?!" The teen jolted up. " I-I'm up!" He looked around. He was back in the front passengerseat of his older sister, Midori's car. His luggage was still in the back. He hoped none of his more fragile belongings got shaken up durning the ride.

The female next to him laughed, merrily. She was in her early twenties, tall, thin, with tanned skin like Tatsujo, and black, shoulder-length hair. "Seriously, lil' bro?" She poked him with her free hand. "Bad dream, Tatsu-kun?"

He looked down, blushing in embarrassment of his childhood nickname. "Midori..."

She smiled. "We're here."

Tatsujo looked out the window. Inaba. He had finally made it. It was a bit on the small side, and a lot more quiet than where he used to live, but this was home from this point forward. Outside, there were few cars around. The few people that were out at this time of day were either walking or riding a bike. Soon, Midori pulled into a gas station.

"Gotta fill up the tank, then go to the ladies's room." Midori turned to her brother, half concerned. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Just thinking..." Between his odd and somewhat ominous dream and his new life in Inaba, he hoped he could make a good first impression. The last thing he needed was to look like a idiot who no one would take seriously. That was both his worst fear, and most infuriating offense.

"Wanna take a quick walk, get a feel for the place?" The older sister offered. " I'll call you when I'm ready."

"'kay." He opened the car door and did a quick stretch. After closing the door, he walked up the street, noting the buildings he passed. A library, a strange looking place with samurai armor propped up front with a very angry looking man inside, a t-

"Oops!"

"Ah!" Tatsujo looked to the person he bumped into. "Sorry, sir. I wasn't paying attention."

"Heh, no harm done." The slightly older gentleman assured, with a smirk on his pale face. He noticed Tatsujo's uniform. "Yasogami, huh?"

"Uh, yeah." Tatsujo's nervousness began to ease, though he did notice the bandage on the older man's face and was curious about it.. "Second year. Just transferred."

"Well, guess that makes me your sempai. Name's Akihiko Sanada." He holds out his gloved hand. "Hope you get to like it around here."

Tatsujo smiles and shakes it. Though, glad that he's made some form of a friend already, he didn't expect him to be so strong. Akihiko shook the boy's hand with an iron grip!. "Heh..Thanks. I'm sure I will."

Akihiko then walks off after patting Tatsujo on the shoulder. "See ya at school then."

"Yeah..." Tatsujo then looked ahead for a brief moment, his hands in his pockets. "Pretty quiet place..." He mused. "Definitely a contrast to Suma-" Something in the corner of his vision caught his attention. A blue butterfly. "Huh...?"

The insect flew around him, as if observing the young man. It's brilliant blue wings fluttered gracefully, and for a brief moment, Tatsujo was mesmerized by it.

"Are you...?" Tatsujo was interrupted by his cellphone. Midori. "Sis?"

"I'm ready. Let's go." The muffled sound of her car starting was briefly heard through the phone.

"Alright, sis. On my way." He hung up. When he looked up, the butterfly was nowhere to be seen. However, having enough with supernatural crap for the day, Tatsujo left the area to return to his sister.

* * *

The ride after that was relatively short. Midori's house, Tatsujo's new home, was a slightly, above standard house. And it conveniently was located a few blocks away from the local shopping mall, Junes. After bringing his luggage into his room, which was thankfully, fairly spacious, Tatsujo looked around. Large bed, big enough closet, and a flatscreen standing atop a wooden dresser.

Midori walked in. "Like it?"

"Love it." Tatsujo smiled warmly and embraced his sister. "Thanks sis."

"No problem...Tatsu-kun." A mischievous grin made it's way across the older woman's face

"Uuuugh..."


	2. Chapter 2

"I will, BURN MY DREAAAAD~"

Later in the evening, a young woman was sitting in her seat on the train, reading over the directions to the Yasoinaba dorms for the third time.

"Hey, you. Redhead."

She paid him no mind as she was lost in her thoughts.

"'scuse me." A hand shook her shoulder slightly.

"Hm?" She looked up. A young man around her age stood next to her.

"This seat taken?"

She shook her head and moved over. The male sat down, parting strands of his blue hair from in front of his face. "Transferring to Yaso?"

She nodded. "My name is Minako Arisato. Yours?"

"Minato Shiomi." The two made mental notes of each other's names.

* * *

They both stepped out of the train station and looked around for a brief moment before Minako glanced at the address written on a piece of paper once more. "Well, I'm off." Minako smiled at Minato. "See ya."

"Be careful." Though he looked glum seeing her leave, the bluenette walked away in the other direction.

Then, it happened.

"I will, BURN MY DRE-" Minako's MP3 player cut off, along with her phone, and the streetlights.

Minako, however, strangely didn't so much as bat an eye to the sudden shift. "Hm..." The 'auburnette' continued walking through the empty streets of Inaba, paying no attention to the coffins that she occasionally passed, nor the fact that the sky had turned a shade of red. "Same shit..." She eventually reached the dorms. As she opened the door, she looked back one more time and glanced at a particular tower in the distance. "..." She shook her head and went inside.

"You're late."

Minako stood before a small boy with striped pajamas.

"I've been waiting for a long time." He handed something to her. A contract. "This is just a document saying you'll take full responsibility for your actions. Y'know...the usual stuff."

She shrugged and signed her name.

A smile formed onto the pale boy's face as he backed away into the dark. "And so it begins...No matter who you are, time delivers us all to the same end..."

She blinked. "Weird kid."

"Who's there?!"

Minako turned her attention to a girl around her age, wearing a pink sweater. She was shaking and holding a silver gun-like object in her hands.

"Hey, I-

"Stay back! I mean it!"

"Takeba!"

The two females looked to the source of the new voice, which belonged to a redheaded woman who looked to be slightly older than them. At the same time, the dark atmosphere had lifted, and the lights turned back on, along with Minako's mp3 player.

The older redheaded approached them. "I didn't think you would arrive so late. But in any case, welcome. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. This is Yukari Takeba."

Yukari put the 'gun' in a holster on her thigh. "Hello."

"Hello. I'm Minako Arisato. Also, what's with the gun?"

"U-uh." Yukari stumblingly tried to make up an explanation, not expecting that question.

"It's not real." Mitsuru explained. "Just a scare tactic in case someone tries to break in."

"O...kay."

"In any case, let's show you your room."

They head up to the third floor and open the door at the end of the hall.

"Here we are. Now, any questions?"

"Who was that kid from earlier?"

Both girls seemed confused. "What kid?"

"We're the only three here."

Minako shook her head. "Nevermind then. Goodnight." She entered her room.

"'night."

"Sleep well."

* * *

The next day, Yukari and Minako walked to school. Minako took mental notes of all the buildings that stood out the most, as to not get lost.

"Here we are. Yasogami high."

Minako smiled, looking up at the building. She hoped that she'll make some friends at this new school. "It's nice."

Yukari gave a small smile back. "Glad you like it. Come on." She lead her inside.

Minako ended up having Ms. Toriyumi as her homeroom teacher, the same as Yukari. Most of the day was spent on introductions. After school, Minako packed her things, ready to leave. That is, until...

"'Sup dude?"

She looked up to who spoke to her. A student, wearing a baseball cap, with a small amount of hair stubble on his chin. "Uh..."

He chuckled. "Ya look like a deer in headlights."

Minako didn't know if that was an insult, or some weird compliment. "And you are..?"

"Junpei Iroi. Nice to meet ya."

She smiled. "Same."

"I transferred here a while back, so I know what being the new kid is like. I decided to make sure you're okay, not freaking out on your first day."

"At it again, huh?" Yukari came over, annoyed. "Is there any girl you won't flirt with, Junpei?"

Junpei took a step back, away from Minako. "What? I was just being friendly."

"If you say so..."

"Still though," Junpei's smile returned "everybody's been talking about you two."

"Huh?"

"Why?"

"Why? Yuka-tan, a well-known cute girl, walking with the new girl, who also happens to be cute? Who wouldn't bring that up?"

"Really? Already with the rumours?" Yukari sighed.

Minako stayed silent, not knowing what to say about the subject. She had just got here, and already, people are talking about her. She hoped this wouldn't attract the wrong type of attention. She then got up. "I'm...gonna go back to the dorm now."

"I'll walk ya there." Junpei offered.

"I'd go too, but I have archery club." Yukari explained. "Sorry. And don't try anything funny, Junpei." She left the room.

Junpei shook his head at the empty threat. "Yeesh, I already said that it ain't like that.." He opened the door for Minako and they both walked out of the classroom. About halfway down the hallway, a loud ' _THUD_ ' was heard, followed by three students walking out of their classroom.

"Was that really necessary, Chie?" A female student, wearing a red sweater asked.

"He cracked my dvd." Said another girl, wearing a green jacket. "He deserved it."

The tall, male student behind them scratched his head, and stayed silent.

Junpei spoke up. "Ladies...is everything alright?"

Chie turned around. "Oh, hey Junpei. Tell Yosuke he owes me a steak from Junes, as well as my replacement dvd."

"Uh...okay?"

Chie then noticed Minako. "Oh, you're the other transfer student right?"

"Yeah. Minako Arisato."

Chie grinned. "Chie Satonaka. Nice to meet you. This is my best friend, Yukiko Amagi."

"Hello." She waved.

"And this is Souji Seta."

"Hello. Nice to meet a fellow transfer student."

Minako smiled. "Yeah. Same."

"Wasn't there three transfer students, actually?" Yukiko asked.

"I...think so." Chie answered. "The third one must be in a different class."

"Ugh...god." A student, wearing headphones limped out of his classroom. "Dammit, Chie..."

"Yo, 'Brosuke'!" Junpei called.

"H-Hey, Junpei.."

"Minako, Yosuke Hanamura. His dad's the manager at Junes."

"And he owes me, big time." Chie reminded.

"I know, I know..."

Junpei pats Yosuke on the back. "Well, we gotta go. See you tomorrow."

"Laters."

"Goodbye."

Minako waved at them as she and Junpei left.


	3. Chapter 3

An older man, in about his forties, or so, sat up from his desk at the front of the classroom. "Alright. Name's Mr. Moriyama." He wrote his name on the board. "I try not to be 'that guy' to my students as long as they listen in class. So don't give me any bullshit and I won't give any back." He picked up his clipboard. "Now then...role call. Raiji Hotaru."

A student raised their hand. "Here."

"Fuuka Yamigishi."

"H-here.."

"Reizo Bourtoro."

"Yo."

"It's 'here', not 'yo', Bourtoro." Moriama corrected, sternly.

"Tch, here..."

"Tat-oh yes, we have a new student. New student, please stand up."

 _"This is it.."_ Tatsujo thought. _"Just get through this, and you won't look dumb..."_ He got up and looked to the class. "I'm Tatsujo Urutora...I, uh...hope to get along with everyone..."

Moriyama seemed satisfied with that. "Alright, go ahead and sit down."

Tatsujo sat back down, next to Raiji as Moriyama continued role call. Later on as class ended, a few students asked Tatsujo questions relating to his hometown, that is, until Moriyama shooed them away from him. As the young transfer left, he spotted a female student down the hall yelling about a DVD to some guy on the floor. Before he could say anything, he was bumped by someone.

"Move, new guy." It was Reizo. Tatsujo didn't get a good look at him in class, so now he got the chance to note his classmate's facial features better. Slightly pale skin, not unlike Akihiko's, brown eyes, and black hair that slightly covered his left eye. He caught a glimpse of his Red t-shirt, but couldn't see the writing. "Uh, one side, please?!" he practically shouted.

"Oh!" Tatsujo moved. "S-sorry!" Tatsujo couldn't help but feel...intimidated by him. As Reizo walked away, Tatsujo got a text from Midori:

-Midori: Hey, need me to pick you up?

-Tatsujo: Sure, if you feel like it.

-Midori: K, on my way.

"Hey bro." Midori spoke up, glancing at her brother who was gazing out the car window.

"Hmm?"

"How was school?"

He shrugged. "It was alright, I guess..."

"Hm...Well, coworker told me something interesting today."

"Really?"

"They say if you look at a television screen that's turned off at midnight while it's raining, you'll see your soulmate."

"Pfft, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...Sis, I don't believe in crap like that..."

"Really? So, if it rains tomorrow night, you won't try it?"

"Nope."

During the drive, they came up to an area blocked off by the police.

"What the...?" Midori groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Of fucking course they would block the quickest way back..."

Tatujo tried to make out the scene in front of them as Midori backed the car up. He could've sworn he saw the student in the green jacket from earlier. _She must live near there,_ he assumed. Paramedics moved a body into an ambulance. _A body?...What happened?_ he wondered.

* * *

The next morning, Souji walked to school, when-

WHOAAAHHH! _ ***THUD!***_

"H-help! Someone, please!" Yosuke struggled helplessly, stuck inside of a trash can.

"Oh boy..." Souji pulled his classmate out and dusted him off.

"Oh. Thanks."

"No problem. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. It's nothing. This bike's not as great it seems. Brakes are crap. I may end up just getting a new one. Oh, by the way, fun fact: This place is famous for its beefsteak, so how 'bout I treat ya as my way of sayin' thanks?"

"You don't have to do that." Souji said. He didn't really know Yosuke that well, and he didn't want to take his money from him.

"Come on, I insist."

"Did someone say steak?"

Souji could've swore he heard Yosuke curse under his breath when Chie ran up to them. "Hello, Chie."

"Hey, man. So, Yosuke, if you're heading to Junes after school, you can buy me that steak you owe me."

"Yeah, let's invite Yukiko, Junpei, and the new girl while you're at it." Yosuke sarcastically said. "I'm not made of money, Chie!"

"Well, don't mind if I do!" Junpei came over and patted Yosuke on the shoulder.

"Bro, not you too..."

"Relax, I'll pay for my own stuff."

* * *

The four, plus Minako and Yukari whom Junpei convinced to go with them, found a table and sat down. Yosuke and Junpei ordered milkshakes for everyone.

"Hey! This isn't steak!"

"Yeah, well I didn't have enough money for more than two steaks. Like I said, I'm not made of money."

"Wierd." Junpei said, sipping his milkshake. "Considering your dad is the manager."

"At Junes, I'm just another employee. No exceptions." Yosuke noticed a young woman off in the distance. "Sempai. I'll be right back, guys!" He shot up from his seat and ran over to the woman.

Souji and Minako curiously watched. The woman didn't look that much older than them.

"Is that Yosuke's girlfriend?" Asked Minako.

Yukari attempted to hold back a laugh. "In his dreams, maybe."

"Saki is a third year." Chie explained. "And Yosuke has a massive crush on her."

Junpei shook his head. "I keep tellin' to stop before the poor boy gets his heart broken."

Yukari rolled her eyes. "Y _ou're_ not exactly Mr. Romance yourself, you know."

"Buzzkill."

"Whatever. I bet you believe in that midnight channel rumor, don't you?"

"So what if I do!?" He snapped back. "I haven't had the chance to try it, but it might work."

This piqued the interest of the two transfer students. They looked to each other, then to the others. "Midnight Channel?"

"It's just some dumb superstition." Explained Yukari. "You're supposed to look at a T.V. that's turned off around midnight while it's raining. Supposedly, you see your soulmate."

Souji thought. He never really thought about the supernatural that much in the past, so he didn't think much about this midnight channel rumor, besides the fact that it was just that- a rumor. Minako, however, had enough reason to believe that this rumor may be true. She shivered a bit as the memory of the incident on the bridge tried to creep back into her mind.

Souji shook her slightly, noticing this. "Minako?"

"H-huh?"

"You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm...I'm fine." she said, trying to hide the look of sorrow behind a smile.

"Okay, then..." Confused, Junpei returned to the previous subject."It's supposed to rain tonight. Let's see if it's fake or not."

"Alright."

"Yeah..."

"if I have time, I guess so."

* * *

11:59 pm. A light rain covered Inaba as the three transfer students stared at their blank television screens, each feeling different about the situation.

Tatsujo felt skepticism, thinking Midori is playing some sort of joke on him. Minako felt nervousness, having to stay up so late only reminded her of the death of her parents. Souji felt optimism, thinking that maybe this would be true. It could make staying in Inaba a little more interesting.

12:00 midnight. The power cut off. A light fog covered the area, and the sky turned blood red. The only light that kept the three able to see their screens was the light of the full moon.

Tatsujo jumped back as his tv came on by itself. "What the?!"

"Hm..." Souji watched the screen curiously.

Minako kept her focus on the screen.

All three of them, though the screen wasn't clear, saw a woman in pain, trying to run from something.

As soon as Tatsujo's television went off, he hurried back to his bed, though he stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. _What the fuck was that...?_ he thought. He assumed that 'his soulmate' would just appear in his reflection, or something. Not GET MURDERED in front of him!

* * *

Before Souji could react, "AGH!" he was hit with a sudden headache. He clutched his head as a voice rang in his head:

 _ **"I am thou...Thou art I. Thou art the one...who will open the door..."**_

The teen looked back at the tv as the screen turned back off. He reached out to it as the voice grew louder.

 _ **"Thou art the one..."**_

As he touched the screen, his hand went through, pulling him halfway through. "Wha-AAH!" He quickly used his free hand to free himself. Doing so had caused him to fall backwards and hit his head on his coffee table.

"Shit! Dammit..." He heard a knock at the door. "Huh...?"

"Are you okay?" Asked the voice of a young girl. His cousin, Nanako.

"Yeah. I'm fine...I just fell out of bed."

"Oh. Okay. Goodnight." He heard her walk away as he climbed back into bed.

* * *

Minako layed back down in her bed and sighed. It was morbid, yes, but she's been through scary shit, herself. However, when she closed her eyes, the ground began to shake. "What the...?" She got back up. "An earthquake...?" Someone banged on her door.

"Hey, wake up!" Yelled Yukari.


	4. Chapter 4

The ground began to shake. So much so, that it began to shake all of Inaba.

It startled Souji. He looked outside of his window.

It scared the hell out of Tatsujo. A loud crash from outside caused him to look outside his window.

They both saw something. Something big. And was heading towards Minako's dorm.

Minako groaned. "What the hell is it at this time of-

Yukari grabbed her arm and ran out into the hallway. Being both startled and pissed off, Minako tried to break away. "The hell are you doing?!"

"Saving your life!"

Yukari lead the confused Minako to the roof and locked it. "There."

"Can you please tell me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Just then, something crawled up to the roof of the dorm. A cluster of hands, one holding a giant blue mask.

"Oh, God..."

The creature drew out multiple swords, aimed directly at the two girls.

"What the fuck is that?!"

Yukari pulled out what looked to be a gun. "We call those things shadows...Just stay behind me." She hesitated, shakily putting the piece of metal to her head. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, the shadow had knocked her away from Minako, sending flying to the edge of the rooftop. Swords ready, it walked over to the downed Yukari, like a predator about to claim it's prey.

Minako was having a panic attack, the memories of the accident on the bridge came flooding back.

 _"Hey."_

"Huh..?" She heard a voice. It sounded like the little boy from yesterday. She felt something cold in her hand. Yukari's fake gun.

 _"Use it. Hurry."_

She shakily put the piece of metal to her head...

 _"Per. So. Na."_

And pulled the trigger, and was surrounded by a blue mist. This caught the attention of the large shadow, right before it was about to finish off Yukari. In front of Minako was...herself. Albeit, with Golden eyes.

 **"I am thou. And thou art I..."** In a bright light, the second Minako took on a new form; That of a robotic female with long hair, golden torso, and a giant heart-shaped harp. **"I am Orpheus, master of strings."**

Though her vision was blurred, Yukari witnessed her classmate's awakening. "A persona...Minako.."

The shadow ran towards her. Orpheus's eyes began to glow red as she strummed her harp. The shadow then bursted into flames. It quickly shook it off. Orpheus continued blasting the shadow with her power of fire, Agi.

Minako, her summoner, however, was still breathing heavily. And clutching her head this time. The fire, the crash, the monsters, everything's coming back. The painful memories of death. With a pained scream, Minako's persona was torn apart by something frightening. A being in black, wearing a skull mask and coffins chain to it's back. Death itself.

The shadow extended it's arms to the sky, in an attempt to stab the new extention of Minako's psyche, but instead, its arms were sliced clean off by Death's blade. It then dove for the shadow, ripping it apart until nothing was left. It let out a loud roar in victory.

"Hey!" Shouted a voice. Akihiko and Mitsuru ran up to them. Akihiko went over to Yukari and helped her up.

Mitsuru kept her hand at her side. Holding a similar gun-like object like Yukari had. "Arisato! That's enough! You've done well, now stand down."

Minako did not respond. Her eyes were empty and lifeless. Death gave out another roar and lunged at the heiress.

"Penthesilea!" Mitsuru had summoned a tall woman in blue wearing an iron mask. It blocked Death's attack, but Mitsuru and her persona were still pushed back from the force of the attack.

"Minako, stop!"

Without a word, Minako ran to the edge of the building and leapt high into the air, to the nearby rooftop of another building, leaving the other three utterly dumbfounded.

"What the...Hey!"

"Come back!"

Their pleas fell on deaf ears as Minako and Death disappeared into the night.

* * *

The next day, murmurs from several students about the earthquake were heard throughout the classroom.

"Hey, Seta." Yosuke turned to his new friend, Souji. "Did you feel that earthquake last night?"

"Yeah...And that's not all..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I...saw something."

"Huh? You talking about the midnight channel?"

"Yeah. That an-

"Hey, guys!" Chie interrupted. "You guys see the midnight channel?"

"Yeah. And a few other things." Said Souji. He explained the events of last night, creating skepticism between Yosuke and Chie.

"A monster?"

"Your hand went through the tv?"

"It's true." Souji mentally sighed. His new friends thought he was crazy now. "How about we go to Junes and I'll show you?"

Yosuke checked the time. "May as well, I guess..."

"Yo! Brosuke!" The three looked over to the door. Junpei was there, along with Raiji.

"Hey Junpei. Raiji."

"Hey, Yosuke. Are you still hiring at Junes?"

"Yeah. Come with us, Souji wanted to show us something."

"Alright then."

"And while you guys do that, I'll be chillin' at the food court." Junpei stated with a smile.

* * *

Yosuke brought the four to the electronics section of Junes. No one was around, so this would be easy enough for Souji. Yosuke and Chie went to a large flatscreen television. They put their hands to the screen. Nothing.

"Well, that's that." Chie said.

"Like I said, urban legend." Yosuke added.

"Annnd, I'm bored." Junpei said, starting to walk off.

Chie, Raiji and Yosuke walk away from the T.V., Not ready to give up, Souji walked towards it and put his hand to the screen. It goes in, just like last night.

"So, Yosuke." Raiji said. "Where do I fill out paperwork for..." He caught a glimpse at Souji phasing into the television screen. "What the hell?!"

"Hm? What's wr-..."

Junpei's jaw dropped. "Holy shit!"

Yosuke, Junpei, Raiji and Chie ran over to him.

"Dude, how are you pullin' this off?!" Asked the now sweat-caked Junpei.

"I dunno. I...just am..." Souji then grew curious. "I wonder..." The teen dipped the entire top half of his body into the television.

"WOAH, dude, what are ya doing?!"

Focusing more on the inside of the television, rather than his shocked friends, Souji looked around in the foggy void. "Hm..Really spacious." Souji noted.

"What do you mean, 'spacious'?!" Chie said.

Yosuke started to panic. "Aw man...this is getting heavy on my bladder!"

Chie backed up, seeing people walk in. "Crap! Customers!"

Yosuke began to run "C'mon, guys, let's-"

He bumped into Junpei, who fell onto Souji, who, turn, fell into the tv, with the others soon involuntarily following.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ow..."

"Sonuvuh..."

"Where...are we?"

"I think...inside the television." Souji said, getting up.

"Wh-what?!" Chie said, looking terrified. "Don't stand there calmly, giving us crazy talk!"

"What's with all the smoke?" Junpei asked, wandering aimlessly . "I can barely see a damn thing..." Junpei's right. It's extremely difficult to see anything in the immediate area. There was a thick fog that hindered the vision of the young students.

Yosuke, attempting to call someone sighed as he looked at his phone. "No phone service either..." Yosuke muttered. "Figures."

"More importantly," Said Raiji. "how do we get outta here?"

They heard something. Footsteps. Squeaking footsteps.

"Oh shit..." Junpei said, pointing in the distance. "What's that?!"

There was a figure. Someone slowly walking towards the five in an animal suit. Who is that?

"RUN!

With Souji's protest falling on deaf ears, his classmates begin running in some random direction.

The boy rubbed his temples. "...Why do I even...?" Souji took it in with a deep breath. _Patience, Souji. Stay cool-headed, and your problems will fade...that's what Dad always says..._ He began to pursue his classmates.

They hid in some sort of building that looked to be a hotel, taking the first room they saw and locked the door.

Chie sighed in relief "Finally..we lost that thing..."

Souji then realized the room they were in wasn't a normal one. Ripped posters, paint and...what looked to be blood on the wall, and in the center.

"Guys...?" Yosuke's voice was shaky. "Is that a noose hanging from the ceiling?"

Souji realized something else. "Guys?" I asked. "Where's Raiji?"

"Huh?! I-I thought he was right behind us!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Yosuke paled as he heard the scream. "W-was that him...?"

"He sounds close. Let's go!" Souji headed for the door, until Junpei stopped him from leaving.

"You wanna head back out there?!"

Souji broke free of Junpei's grip and headed out. "He could be in danger out there. Gotta do something."

"Hey wait! We need to stick together!" Chie said, following with Junpei and Yosuke.

He shouted out. "Raiji! Where are you!?"

"Hey! Stop! Be bear-y quiet!"

"Huh?" Souji bumped into someone. He looked down. A person in a...bear costume.

"The hell is that thing?!"

"Shh! Don't go yelling like that! The shadows will be after your hide in a heartbeat if you do that!"

"I-I'm sorry. But I'm looking for my friend. His name is Rai-...what the...?"

"EEP!" The bear clung to Souji as black puddles of sludge began to bleed from the walls and cracks on the floor. "AHH! NOOOOOONONONONONONONO! The shadows...They're here!"

"The what!?"

He handed the teen a pair of glasses. "Here, just take these!"

Souji, after looking at the glasses for a moment, put them on, surprised to see that his vision became clearer. _Just who is this bear?_ he wondered. However, before he could ask anything, he ran off. "AAAAH! DISAPPEAR!"

A part of the black sludge that dripped from the wall and formed into...some sort of ball with a mouth and large tongue. Soon after, more copies of that creature formed near the group.

"Shit, RUN!"

When they ran outside, they saw Raiji, being chased by a swarm of the same monsters after them.

"Raiji!"

"HELP!" The teen screamed while running for his life. Both groups of shadows cornered them all and quickly surrounded them like predators about to catch their prey. One licked Chie, making her fall unconscious. Raiji, Junpei and Yosuke looked too frozen with fear to do anything. Even Souji began to panic. _What now..? What do we do? What the hell do we do...?_

" _ **I am thou. Thou art I.**_ "

A sharp pain struck Souji in his brain. The voice within him grew louder.

" ** _It is time to begin, my friend. To cut through this fog of lies, starting now_.**

A card. The number zero. It floated down into his hand.

" _ **Thou must open thine eyes. The time is now!**_ "

"Per...so..na!"

Souji crushes the card, feeling a sudden rush of power as something emerged behind him.

" _ **I am thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thine soul, I come. I am Izanagi, the bringer of truth.**_ "

A shadow rushed towards him. As Souji raised his hand, Izanagi effortlessly kicked it into the dirt. Several more lunged at Izanagi and began to bite him, causing Souji to flinch, feeling every bit of the pain. "Get...OFF ME!"

*KER-SHING*

Izanagi ripped them from his body, crushing one after the other, then pierced straight through another incoming shadow. One left.

"Izanagi!" His persona held out his hand, a bolt of lighting struck the shadow where it lied, instantly destroying it.

His persona disappeared. The sudden burst of power faded, leaving him card appeared in his hand again. Izanagi's card. He puts it in his inner coat pocket.

"Persona... This power. It belongs to me..."

"Dude..." Souji turned around, seeing Junpei, mouth agape, and Raiji, scared shitless.

"Uh...where's Yosuke?

Junpei pointed behind him, showing the 'prince of Junes' trying to shake Chie awake.

"Chie, Chie! C'mon, wake up!"

"Hmmm..?" Chie slowly began to wake up.

"About time." Yosuke said, smirking.

Souji walked over, helping her up, along with Yosuke. "Are you alright?"

"What...happened to the monsters?" She asked, dusting herself off.

Yosuke grinned. "They're long gone!"

"They are...?"

"Thanks to these him!" Junpei said, pointing to Souji. "Ya should've seen 'im! He freakin' slaughtered 'em!"

She looked at Souji. "Really?"

"Yeah, it was awesome! Dude, ya gotta teach me to do that!"

The wielder of the fool arcana looked down, hoping to form some sort of explanation.

"Who cares?!" Chie said, back in her worried state. "Let's just get out of here before any more show up!"

"HEY!"

"Huh?"

The bear from earlier was peeking out from nearby and walked over to them. "There you are!

"Hey, can you-

"Start talking, bear!" Yosuke interrupted. "You seem to know the ins and outs of this place. How do we get out?"

"Yeah! And did you sic those monsters on us?!" Junpei added, causing the bear to get angry.

"RRRRGH! Now don't you be a dummy bear! I've had it up to here with people making the shadows go crazy!" He stompped his foot again, three televisions appeared in front of the students.

"What the...?"

"T.V.s?"

"No go on, get outta here, scram, I'm a busy bear!" Teddie then shoves the into the Television.

After falling for a brief moment, they end up back in the electronics section of Junes.

Souji was the first to notice. "...We're back."

"OH, THANK GOD!" Junpei cried. "We're alive...We're alive..."

"I just wanted a job at Junes..." Raiji mumbled.

Souji gets up and turns his attention to a nearby poster and walks to it. "Hey, I remember seeing this poster in that other place."

Chie gets up to look with him. "Yeah, that the woman from the news. The one who's husband had an affair with Ms. Yamano."

"That place must be connected with her death..." Souji pondered.

"Come on man." Junpei groaned. "I've had enough with the supernatural crap today!"

"Same here." Yosuke said. "I don't think my heart can take it! Crap, I still have to go, my bladder can't take it either!" He ran off.

"Wait up man, I don't wanna be here if something jumps _out_ of a T.V. " Junpei follows.

Chie sighed. "This is too much for one day, I'm heading home."

"Me too..." Said the sweat-covered Raiji. "I think that crap shortened my life expectancy by about 10 years..."

* * *

In the men's bathroom of Junes, Junpei was washing his face in the sink. "What the hell is goin' on man...?"

"I...could ask the same question..." Yosuke looked at himself in the mirror. "A crazy suicide house inside in a tv, with...demons, or whatever crawling everywhere... And that taking bear thing. What WAS all of that?!"

Junpei shuddered, playing the memory back in his head. "I dunno, man...I don't like thinking about it...But what Seta did in there...Persona?"

"Yeah, I'm _REALLY_ curious about that part."

"Wouldn't be so bad if we had those things..." Junpei's mind wandered.

"Yeah..."

"Let's try askin' him about it tomorrow."

Yosuke nodded. "Yeah." He smirked. "Maybe this year won't be so boring after all."

The two friends left the bathroom, not knowing that a certain school chairman heard their entire conversation from inside the bathroom stall. "Hm...Time for operation: fool me twice." He chuckled at his own joke.


	6. Chapter 6

"Welcome."

The familiar tune of the velvet room reached Souji's ears. Just as before when he was asleep on the train to Inaba, he found himself sitting in a limosine with a royal blue interior, along with the same elderly man, Igor, and beautiful woman, Margaret.

"Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world. I have summoned you here, within your dreams."

Margaret's golden eyes stayed on the sight of Souji. "Only those bound by a contract may enter this room. Furthermore, congratulations on awakening to your power. Persona."

With a wave of Igor's hand, a key materialized on the table in front of the young man. "I would like you to take this with you. The contractor's key. With this, you are officially a guest of the velvet room." Next to the key, a golden card materialized. The card was similar to the one Souji used to summon Izanagi, the only difference being that the image was of a man in a white mask. "That is the power of the wildcard, the ability to have the many personas within you manifest in a controllable form. I'm curious as to what you'll do with this power."

 _"What in the world are they talking about?"_ Thought Souji. He tried to speak. Nothing. He tried to move. Nothing.

"Our apologies, but we're on a tight schedule. We will answer any questions you have another time." Igor closed his eyes, pondering something. "If I were to take a guess...I'd say you will come in contact with two others directly tied to your fate fairly soon. I do hope you will form a strong bond with the both of them. Until next time, farewell..."

* * *

"Have you found anything yet, Akihiko?'

"Nothing yet, Mr. Chairman..." Akihiko walked through the empty streets of the fog-covered Inaba. Were it not for Mitsuru's navigation skills, wandering around the streets during the dark hour like this could prove deadly. "Where could she be...?"

Mitsuru kept focused as her persona, Penthesilea, searched for any humans awake. "Arisato's signal is still within the town. There's only so many places she could be, but the fog is interfering with my search..."

The chairman thought for a moment. "Akihiko. Try-...oh my."

Mitsuru gasped. "How is...?"

The teen boxer stopped in his tracks. "Woah...guys?"

"We see it, Akihiko..."

Akihiko, despite the fog, managed to make out a corpse, a female corpse, hung upside-down on a telephone pole.

Chairman Ikutsuki stared at the victim on the command room monitor, unfazed. "Just like the woman on the news...That's a Yasogami student. Do either of you know her?"

"...Saki Konishi." Mitsuru answered. "A third year student. She...worked at Junes, if I remember correctly."

Akihiko walked a little closer. "Shadows don't kill like this. There's never been a report of anyone with apathy syndrome climbing a pole and offing themselves. Someone did this."

Ikutsuki, who had thought the first time with Yamano was just a usual suicide, suddenly became more interested. He had a good idea as to whom a _possible_ culprit to this murder could be. But their methods differ too much from this case. Before he could give more thought as to who thiscould be, an alert from the computer caught his attention.

"What is it?"

"Something's going on near the mall. I sense someone there, along with multiple shadows. Hurry, Akihiko!"

"On it!" With those words, he sprinted down the road, ready for action. Despite his arm not being completely healed yet, he resisted the lingering pain as he headed for Junes. Once there, he readied his evoker as he heard screaming. Two teens stood on the roof of a van, trying to keep their distance from the shadows, desperately clawing at the vehicle to get to their prey.

Junpei latched onto Yosuke for dear life. "WHAT THE HELL, MAN?!"

"A-are we gonna die...?" Yosuke paled in fear as he looked down at the shadows below them.

Not wasting any time, Akihiko put his evoker to his head and pulled the trigger. "Polydeuces!" Thus, a muscular, blonde man with a cannon on it's right arm emerged from the sea of soul.

 _ **"What is thine wish?"**_

"Fry 'em! Zio!"

On command, Akihiko's persona fired a bolt of lightning from it's arm cannon, electrocuting a shadow, and gaining the attention of the other shadows.

"Bring it on!" Sanada dared. The creatures of the dark hour abandoned the weaker prey, heading for the persona-user. "You two, hide!"

"The hell is goin' on?"

"Who cares? Run!" Yosuke quickly jumped down, running for his life across the parking lot, with Junpei following.

Akihiko and his persona fought simultaneously to make quick work of the shadows, warranting a berating from Mitsuru.

"Akihiko, you are stressing your body while you have your persona out like that! Dismiss it and retreat with the students you found!"

"Would you calm down? I got-Agh!" As he threw a punch with his bad arm, something snapped in it, causing him to reel back in pain, allowing the shadows to get the upper hand. One struck his knee, and the other attacked Polydeuces directly, causing the persona to shatter, further weakening it's summoner.

"Akihiko!"

Yosuke caught a glimpse of the scene. "Shit. Junpei, we gonna do something!"

"Are you mental? We'll get feakin' eaten out there!"

"He'll get eaten if we don't do something! Don't forget he just saved our lives!"

"Shit..." Junpei looked for something, anything, that could be used as a weapon. A thought crossed his mind. "I got it!"

Akihiko was cornered. His arm was near the same condition it was in before, his persona wasn't responding due to it being shattered, and he was staring down some tough shadows. The odds were not in his favor. "Mitsuru? Got anything?"

"You're too far away for me to get to you. Find an opening and run!"

"Hey, ugly!" A shadow was struck by a baseball, knocking it over.

Junpei smirked, gripping the baseball bat in one hand and flipping off the shadows with another. "You're out!" the other shadows looked back at him, ready to attack.

"Great..." Yosuke said, holding a golf club like a sword. "We got their attention...now what?"

 _"What are those idiots doing?!"_ Akihiko mentally yelled... _"Wait a sec..."_ he smirked. "May be crazy enough to work...Hey!" He pulled out his evoker and threw it at Junpei. "Catch!"

Junpei quickly grabbed it, aiming the device at the shadows. "Hell yeah!"

"No, aim it at yourself! It's not a real gun!"

"What?!"

"Junpei!" Yosuke yelled as he was starting to panic the shadows were about to pounce on them.

"SHIIIIT!"

 _ ***BANG!***_

The shadows were blasted back in that instant. Before the two bumbling teens emerged a man in black armor with golden metallic wings on its arms.

 ** _"Hey. I am thou. Thou art I. I'm Hermes, messenger of the gods. Come, let's make quick work of these vermin."_**

"Oh shit...Haha!" Junpei's cocky grin grew wider as he dropped the gun-shaped item and adjusted his hat. "Alright! Let's kick ass!" Junpei ran in to bash a shadow with the bat while Hermes swiped at another with his wing. The whole while, Itkutski and Mitsuru watched on

"Well isn't this the wildest stroke of luck?"

"Get the other one to do it!" The chairman nearly yelled, getting a little too enthused.

"Uh..right." The injured fighter said, looking to Yosuke. "Hey! Pick up the evoker!"

"E-evoker? You mean...this?" He did as instructed. "Junpei shot himself with this...God, am I actually doing this?...here goes..."

 _ ***BANG!***_

From the sea of Yosuke's soul emerged a man in a white jumpsuit, wearing a black mask, red scarf, and green gloves resembling frog hands.

 _ **"To the youth that has summoned me forth. I am thou, and thou art I. I, the legendary ninja, Jiraiya, shall serve as your other self! My power is at your command!"**_

"Okay..." Feeling a bit more confident, Yosuke pointed to the shadows. "Get rid of those things!"

 _ **"A simple task."**_ Jiraiya moved his hands, as if he were about to do some sort of ninjitsu technique, then the shadows were blown away by strung gusts of wind.

"Woah..."

 _ **"Such is the power of garu spells, the commanding of the winds."**_

"Tch, whatever!" Junpei looked to his persona. "We can do that too. Come on, Hermes!"

 _ **"I do not hold the power of the winds. I call upon the flames with agi!"**_

The downed shadows soon burst into flames with Hermes's command. The fames quickly died out as the shadows burned to ashes.

"Damn." Akihiko stood up, leaning on the wall for support. "You guys did good."

"Akihiko-sempai! Damn, they really got you...Wish I could-"

 ** _"Please, allow me."_** Jiraiya waved his hand, healing Akihiko with a warm light, restoring his body to a more stable state.

"Nice." He smiled at his underclassmen. As he walked to them, the dark hour ended, their personas vanishing along with it.

"Aw, what the hell?!" Junpei whined. "That was badass too, what happened?"

"Don't worry." He put a hand on Junpei's shoulder. "I'll explain everything."


End file.
